Bio-Based Products Sustainability

The word "sustainability" is used every day in research, businesses, and our day-to-day life, but what does it really mean? This course is designed to help individuals and companies enhance their expertise in measuring and interpreting the social, techno-economic, and environmental profiles of bio-based products.

The Bio-Based Products Sustainability self-paced online program provides a foundational understanding of core concepts including sustainability, sustainable development, the bioeconomy, and the circular economy. Through a value chain perspective, from raw material sourcing to product end-of-life, you will gain a solid grounding in life cycle assessment (LCA). This course will equip you with critical thinking skills to identify risks and effectively determine the sustainability profile of bio-based products.

Start

Any time

Registration information

Yulia Tikkanen, Project Manager

+358 10 837 3871

yulia.tikkanen@aaltoee.fi

Learning Outcomes

After the completion of the course, you will be able to:

Explain core sustainability concepts relevant to the bio-based products industry, including systems thinking, the bioeconomy, and the circular economy.
Analyze sustainability from an environmental perspective within the context of bio-based materials.
Evaluate the sustainability of bio-based products across their lifecycle.

For

This course is designed for lifewide learners and businesses looking to enhance their knowledge in the bioeconomy and sustainable bio-based product development.

The course is ideal for

Professionals and students in sustainability studies, environmental science programs, and allied fields.
Individuals driven to contribute to environmental and social well-being through advancements in sustainable bio-based solutions.

Contents and Schedule

Throughout this course, you’ll learn about sustainable yield, material and energy flows, and carrying capacity. You’ll compare circular and linear economic models and make informed decisions despite uncertainties. The course also covers bioresource utilization, bioeconomy integration, and the importance of value chains and stakeholder engagement.

Additionally, you’ll develop skills in sustainability metrics like life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle costing, and social life-cycle assessment. Practical examples and case studies will help you measure and interpret sustainability impacts effectively.

The estimated study time for the course is 54 hours. The course allows flexible study patterns; you can decide on your own schedule and the speed of your progress.

The course is divided into three parts:

Part 1 - Sustainability: the basics for building critical thinking.
Part 2 - Bioresources, bio-based products and value chains.
Part 3 - Introduction to Sustainability Metrics: an LCA perspective.

Instructors

Luana Dessbesell

Luana Dessbesell is an Assistant Professor at Aalto University, where she leads a research group focused on sustainable bioproduct innovation. Her work emphasizes translating research into commercialization by applying an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates techno-economic, environmental, and circularity indicators. Her background in forest and chemical engineering with ten years' experience as a researcher and biorefinery technology due diligence specialist in Canada and Brazil. She supports her research team's objective of facilitating academia and industry design transformative technologies and business strategies considering bioeconomy opportunities and circular economy principles to achieve long-term competitiveness.

Callum Hill

Callum Hill is the company director at JCH Industrial Ecology Limited, an environmental consultancy situated in North Wales.

Program Fee and Registration

The fee for the Bio-Based Products Sustainability online course is € 300 (+ VAT).

This program has adopted Aalto EE's new Customer ID, and it is delivered on Aalto Learning Experience Alex e-learning environment. Before ordering, please visit aaltoee.fi/customerid.